O Emperors debut LP (nominated for Choice Music Prize 2010

There is a sense of quiet,
reserved confidence about Hither Thither, O Emperors debut LP (nominated for Choice Music Prize 2010). Many commentators have noted that it sounds more like the recording of a band on their third or fourth album, such is the display of maturity and self-awareness on show. This may be testament to the fact the band grew up together as childhood friends, discovering the same records, learning the same tunes and playing in the same venues with different bands in a thriving local music scene. You could say that although this record is their first, it is the result of many years of growing together musically, uncovering a collective identity and an acute awareness of the nuances that made their favourite records so special.


Hither Thither is big, bold and ambitious, spanning boundless musical territory in its journey of 43 minutes. On listening from beginning to end, it leaves the impression that this a band who have come to collectively adore the heyday of the album format. The diversity on display is striking. From songs like Don Quixote (a dense production featuring a stunning, lush string arrangement by pianist Philip Christie), Po (an elusive tale of imaginery childhood friends set against a driving 70s style production) and Dont Mind Me (a gracefully melodic, sun-kissed affair, with vocal harmonies shared by all five members) to the albums quiter, more introspective moments of Sedalia (a plaintive narrative with an unexpected psychedelic shift), Heisenberg (an eerily minimalistic piano-led composition) and The Fat Lady Sings (a dramatic send-off that at times hints at a taste for the avant-garde), Hither Thither is an album of dense, sprawling beauty: a collection that is diverse while remaining focused on an overriding aesthethic.

A journey from Hither to Thither indeed.


Official site: O Emperor